CHS Classmates Say Bomb-Building Suspect Was 'Weird' and 'Quiet'

Details are still emerging in the curious case of a former Carlmont High School student currently being held in an Altoona, PA jail for allegedly being in possession of a bomb making materials, but some of his classmates at Carlmont High School are helping paint a picture of the Russian national teen. 

On Saturday, police in Altoona arrested 19-year-old Vladislav Miftakhov after an investigation into a reported marijuana grow operation uncovered much more.
During a search of Miftakhov's apartment, officers located a suspected bomb and other assorted bomb making materials inside a suitcase.

Miftakhov, a 2013 graduate of Carlmont High School, is an engineering student at Penn State Altoona, according to Altoona Mayor Matthew Pacifico.

Carlmont High School principal Lisa Gleaton was able to confirm Monday that Miftakhov did in fact graduate last spring from the Belmont high school, but citing student privacy laws, she was unable to provide any further information on the teen such as attendance or behavioral records. 

Several of Miftakhov's former Carlmont classmates spoke out about his arrest, and recalled what he was like as a high school student. 

"Vlad was quite shy - he hardly talked to anyone. I consider us more as acquaintances because I never got to know him well, but I do know that he has a large family and he went to Ralston (Middle School) too," said Steven Tsujisaka, a 2012 CHS graduate. 

Another student who graduated with Miftakhov, and has known him since middle school, told Belmont Patch via text that Miftakhov was frequently tinkering with various materials, and that he's "not as weird as the news makes him out to be."

"I was completely speechless and I was freaking out like, oh my god, I knew this kid!" Carlmont High School senior Katrine Petrov, told ABClocal.go.com.

"When we would talk, he was nothing about weapons in general or bombs or anything. We would talk about random stuff, like school-wise," Petrov said.

The bomb found in Miftakhov's apartment was safely deconstructed by experts from the Pennsylvania State Police Bomb Squad. 

Andrew Leff, who lives in the same apartment building as the bomb suspect told told ABClocal.go.com, "He's the weirdest human being I've ever met, to be honest," Leff said. 

"He was always doing abstract things but never really anything dangerous like this before. I'm hoping for the best for him, but I really hope I never see him again because, like, he's a dangerous kid."

The CBS affiliate in Philadelphia reports that the FBI and federal prosecutors spent the weekend reviewing the allegations against a Miftakhov who remains in custody in Blair County (PA) Prison. His bail has been set at $500,000. No federal charges had been filed against Miftakhov.

Miftakhov was born in Moscow but has lived the last several years with his family in San Carlos on Exeter Avenue, before moving to Pennsylvania to attend college.